


Down Time

by Mysteryreview



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Characters will be added as drabbles are written!, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-09 22:01:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3265916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysteryreview/pseuds/Mysteryreview
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabbles from prompts and other short stories. Mostly side stories and in-between canon things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Useful - Tsukkiyama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After failing miserably at his first float serve, Yamaguchi wonders why he even plays.

Yamaguchi sat lethargic in his room, reflecting on the last match. If only he had been able to hit that float serve. Maybe if he had more time to practice? Or if he hadn’t been so determined to surprise the team with his usefulness?

All he wanted was to be able to stand out there with everyone else. He wasn’t content with cheering along from the sidelines any more. 

Yamaguchi flipped his phone around in his hands, running his fingers over the screen surface. After a pause, he clicked through his contacts and opened up a message to Tsukishima.

"…" he had no idea what to say. He just needed to talk to someone right now. ‘Sorry I screwed it up for everyone’? Or a lighthearted sounding message like, ‘Well, I guess that chance came and went, huh’? 

Instead, the screen light flickered on and a text vibrated his phone. 

"Tsukki?" He read the name of the sender.

In the message was a simple, ‘You okay?’

'Mhm.' He tapped slowly, pressing send. 

There was a brief moment of silence in the room before the vibration jolted him back to reality.

'Liar.' Yamaguchi wrinkled his nose, holding back a couple tears.

'Hah.. Yeah.. I'll be okay.' He sent the message, curling up into a ball on his bed.

A vibration.

'Do you need to, you know… talk?' Yamaguchi's eyes widened a bit. Tsukki was his closest friend, no question, but rarely did he ever offer to become the touchy-feely type. He must have truly been concerned to risk his cool-guy image, even if it was Yamaguchi.

'Nah. I'll be good.' Yamaguchi smiled as he typed.

But before he could hit send, another message popped on.

'You're not useless.' 

Yamaguchi blinked, a bit confused. Useless? He went back to delete his old reply and type out a new one.

'What do you mean, Tsukki?' 

A short moment later, another, longer message appeared.

'The match today, right? I could tell you were disappointed. Like, “I'm so useless I can't hit a single serve! I want to play!” Right?'

Yamaguchi’s mouth dropped open.

"I-!" He vocalized, but he remembered that Tsukishima wasn’t physically in front of him, so he began pressing keys again.

'I guess I did feel useless. I do, I mean. I just don't think I'm good enough to be here. I don't even know why I keep playing volleyball, honestly. But that's okay. I just want to support you.'

He watched the message send, feeling slightly embarrassed that his friend could read him like a book.

It was a while before the next reply came.

'You put your foot on the court today, right? You worked hard just for that, didn't you? That means it'll happen again.' 

Yamaguchi could feel his cheeks pinken as his eyes scanned the rest of the text. He sat up from the bed and leaned forward as he read, as if he couldn’t quite see what he was looking at.

'If you keep working at it, you will be on that court again. You want to support me. That’s what you said? Well how can you do that if you quit? We are going to keep growing. If you don’t try you will be left behind. As nice as it is having you cheer on the sidelines, you would be even better in a game. You are not useless.’

Yamaguchi’s glassy eyes let the tears roll down his cheeks, but this time he felt like laughing. And he did. He laughed and coughed and fell back on his bed, slapping his forehead with his hand.

It was possibly the longest message he had ever gotten from Tsukishima. He was acting so silly, wasn’t he? Of course he had to keep trying! It’s no fun to give up. And he had been so close to actually pulling the float serve off this time!

'Okay, Tsukki. I'll just have to try harder then!' He sent the text, assuming it would be the end of the conversation, but he added a short, 'Thank you for always caring about me, Tsukki.'

Soon, a response.

'Do you want to study at my place?'

There was a genuine smile on Yamaguchi’s face as he jumped out of bed and slipped his shoes on, hurrying out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really proud of this one for some reason. It's pretty much exactly how I imagine their friendship when they have privacy.


	2. Of Course, Stupid - Iwaoi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi isn't the best at the comforting thing, but it seems to do the trick anyway.

"Didn’t you see what I did?!" Oikawa Tooru was currently sitting in a fetal position in the corner of the locker room. 

This reaction seemed to come out of nowhere, but throughout the day he had looked like he’d seen death, hobbling through the halls and barely touching his lunch.

"I almost- yesterday- I almost _hit_ him,” Oikawa bawled, looking at the offending hand like it wasn’t his own. “A-And…!”

Iwaizumi let out a deep sigh as Oikawa wiped his nose on his sleeve. What an idiot. He always had to ball up his emotion and let it all out at once like this. But he was used to it at this point.

"Well, you didn’t. So it’s fine." Hajime bent down to sit next to him, just barely touching shoulders. "You can’t do that, you moron. I didn’t know it had gotten this bad. You should have said something earlier. We could have talked about it."

"But," he sniffled wetly, "I didn’t know I would do _that_. I thought I could handle it on my own. I’m supposed to be able to handle this!”

Iwaizumi dragged a hand down his face, “You know, you’re taking this whole ‘being an ass to your enemies’ thing a little too far,” he gripped Oikawa’s shoulder and pushed him to turn and look at his face. “Kageyama is fine. Don’t think about that right now. It happened. You can be an ass to people. Fine, I don’t give a shit. But you can’t start comparing yourself to others. You can only keep trying to better your own skills. Hitting and insulting others won’t change the fact that they are good.”

Oikawa looked away again, considering. His crying and shallow breaths seemed to have softened down to small hiccups. 

"Geeze… I hate when you doubt yourself like this you complete dumbass," Iwaizumi started to stand, but was pulled back down by the strong grip of the setter and into a comfortable hug.

"…Thank you, Hjime." And there were a couple final shudders of his breath as he released the last of his tension. Hajime didn’t move and didn’t hug back. He felt almost paralyzed at the sound of his name coupled with their closeness, but he wasn’t sure why. His face felt hot when the hug began to last just a little too long. Iwaizumi awkwardly pat his back to comfort him and subtly let him know it was time to let go, before his head got any dizzier.

After a few moments, Oikawa put his hands on Iwaizumi’s shoulders and used them to steady himself as he stood up.

"Will you practice with me?" He held his hand out to Hajime, who responded with a blunt. "Of course, stupid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really short but hey, that's drabbles for ya! I adore these two with a burning passion.


	3. Agelast - Kagehina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama never laughs, and Shouyou can't help but wonder; What the hell is wrong with him?

“Kageyama! Wait! How about this one-“

The buzzing wouldn’t stop. It was like a family of bees built a home in his ear canals. Why couldn’t he be rid of the incessant chatter even after practices? He felt over-stimulated, and exhausted as a result.

“No! No more jokes! Only an idiot would ever find these funny. Which is why you like them so much, I guess.” 

“How many middle-hitters does it take to screw in a light bulb?”

“Don’t do it, dumbass. I’m warning you.”

“Only one! But the setter has to toss it perfectly into their hand first!”

Tobio yanked the volleyball out of Hinata’s hands.

“Hey!” Hinata stamped his foot and leapt after it as Kageyama dodged out of his reach. “It’s not my fault you are such a cranky old man for your age. I’ve never heard you laugh even once since I’ve known you!” He tapped a finger on his chin in thought. “Is something wrong with you?” Hinata squinted.

A fist grabbed his shirt, lifting him off the ground. Hinata’s limbs flailed and gripped on to the arm holding him up.

“Shut. Up.”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry, Kageyama!” Hinata was half apologetic and half holding back a laugh at his reaction. It wasn’t worth prodding at him more, he figured. “Put me down, please?” He offered a sheepish smile in defeat.

Letting out a long sigh, and the tenseness with it, he lowered Hinata to the ground. Hinata glanced up at him, scanning his face for any residual anger and smiled when he saw none.

“Just come on. I’m hungry,” Kageyama continued to walk, a hand in his pocket. The other hand skillfully tossed and caught the volleyball he swiped at a rhythm. “We’ve been at it all day.”

“Can I have my volleyball back?” Shouyou jumped back into stride next to him. 

“No.” 

“What? Why not?! Give me my freakin’ ball, Bakeyama!”

“You’ll keep making horrible fucking puns.” His pace quickened.

A light bulb went off in Shouyou’s head. “I’ll do it anyway!” A mischievous smile danced across his lips. 

Kageyama stopped dead. “Don’t you dare, you damned idiot.”

“WHAT CAN YOU SERVE BUT NEVER EAT?” Hinata yelled, and soon felt rubber square against his face, forcing him right onto his rear end. 

“Aah-oow…” Kageyama kept walking as Hinata rubbed the tender area. “S-See? You got it!”

The orange mop of hair rose up into a sitting position as he cracked his back and leaned back against his palms. He sighed.

“Hey, Kageyama?”

The taller boy stopped and turned around to acknowledge him as if nothing had happened. 

“Mm?”

“Were you always this rough with your friends? What were you like before I met you?” He cocked his head to Kageyama, who at this point had a genuine look of surprise on his face. What a random-ass question.

“What do you mean?” He backtracked a few steps toward Hinata. “You saw. I was… the tyrannical ‘King’, remember?” The word was bitter between his teeth. It was as if he was talking about someone he’d rather forget, someone who didn’t exist any more. In Hinata’s eyes that wasn’t far from the truth.

“I mean before volleyball. What were you like?”

“What does it matter? I’d rather just keep moving on with my life than think about that stuff.” 

“Oh me too!” Hinata agreed. “I just want to know if you were ever capable of laughing at anything. Or at all. Ever.”

Tobio averted his eyes, clenching and unclenching his fists. 

“You can trust me with anything, you know?” Hinata absentmindedly dragged his finger against the pavement. “We’re partners so that’s kind of the point. Except maybe if you started showing me baby pictures, because I would definitely show those to the _whole_ team. How could I not? Actually, I’m probably not the best to talk to afterall… _Gah-!_ ” 

A strong hand yanked the top of Hinata’s head, making him wince, and pulling him into a standing position. Kageyama held tightly to the thick locks of sweat-dampened hair tangled between his fingers and looked him straight in the eye.

“I was a quiet but competitive kid. My parents believed I needed an outlet for it, and volleyball was the only thing I liked. I had a couple of friends when I was young, but we found different hobbies and I never saw them much after that.”

Hinata processed the information a moment. 

“Kageyama is a lonely person, isn’t he?” he uttered quietly to no one in particular.

Tobio’s expression softened at the unexpected sincerity. It soon returned to an intense stare, his cheeks flaming up. He felt extremely vulnerable, damn him. Who the hell was he to make assumptions?

“Ah! Sorry, I was thinking out loud! But then… that means now you have nothing to worry about! We’ll always be there because we all will always love volleyball! That’s a relief isn’t it?”

It was then that Hinata got a good look at Kageyama’s eyes for the first time. They weren’t brooding or threatening. They were such an unusual color, dark yet blue, and the way they were analyzing him at the moment was piercing. It sent a shiver down the back of his neck and rebounded up his entire body. He always imagined them as cold and distant, but right then, up close, it seemed as if the person owning them could be anything but.

Kageyama’s hold wasn’t hurting any more. In fact, it felt almost… nice. The way he felt fingers gently pressing against his scalp- it sent another wave of trembles through him, and he visibly shook this time.

Hinata’s hair was released. His cheeks were tinted red and tingled as if he had just walked into a warm room after being out in numbing cold. 

“Mm,” Kageyama could only nod in response.

“You’re my rival, but,” Hinata kneeled down and picked up the ball that had long been forgotten, “you’re my partner. And… my friend now, too. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I’m pretty sure we’re friends now, aren’t we? Here!”

Kageyama’s eyes widened as Shouyou held the ball out toward him, offering the sacred item. Hesitantly he reached out, placing his hands over Hinata’s to accept the gift.

“This isn’t-“ Tobio started to refuse, the tone in his voice the same as when he called Hinata an idiot on a regular basis.

When he finally snapped out of it long enough to get a good look at his- _friend_ , he noticed that Hinata was staring at their clasped hands, face scarlet.

“M-Maybe we’ll be even closer some day!” Shouyou smiled, voice shakier than his arms as he hastily released his hold on the ball. “So keep it, okay?”

That was the smile. That big, blindingly wonderful smile that graced Hinata’s face on special occasions, full from ear to ear. It made something warm flip in knots in his chest.

Kageyama turned it over in his hands. The ball was dirty and scuffed and slightly deflated, but that didn’t matter. It was Hinata’s. And now it was his. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten a gift from anybody.

“I won’t lose to anyone.” Tobio announced, face flush. “I won’t accept anyone else replacing me on or off the court.”

“So,” Hinata eyed him with relish, drawing out the word, and Kageyama immediately regretted saying anything. “Are you saying you want to be my _best friend_?” 

“Yes! N-No! It’s different, dumbass! Ugh-“ Kageyama sputtered out something incomprehensible, flustered.

‘Well then you know what best friends would do, right?” Shouyou bent to look at his partner’s face the other continually avoiding eye contact.

Tobio clenched his teeth and bit the bullet. “What?” 

“They listen to each other’s horrible jokes.”

“No they don’t!” He bristled and stomped off in the direction of the Foothill Store.

“Oh! I got one! How do you know Ukai is a good coach?”

“I don’t care.” Kageyama mocked with a forced enthusiasm to match Hinata’s delivery.

“Because he’s always yelling at us from the benches!”

“That’s more of an observation than a joke.” He rolled his eyes.

“Hmm. Okay, how about this one… Oikawa flirts with a girl and says, ‘Your face must turn a lot of heads-’.”

The name immediately irked him and depleted whatever patience Kageyama had left. He stopped at that one and faced Hinata, arms crossed. 

Kageyama raised a brow. 

“A-And the girl says, ‘Yeah, and your face must turn a lot of stomachs!’”

There was a beat. 

And another.

Another.

And one more.

Kageyama slowly brought a hand up to his mouth. It was short, and if he blinked he may have missed it. Hinata stared in awe as the other pushed an unflattering snort out of his nose and turned away. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought the setter was choking on something that was caught in his throat.

Hinata sprinted in front of him to make sure, but Kageyama was unsuccessfully hiding a crooked smile beneath his palm, and all was certain.

“Did… did you just laugh? Did I make _the_ Kageyama laugh? ” His eyes widened, incredulously and he received a large palm covering his vision. It gave him a hard shove to the face, forcing him off balance as Kageyama picked up his pace.

“No! Shut up!” But his voice crackled and faltered and Hinata knew it was un-doubtable now. The fact that his nose was still wrinkled up and he was biting back the corners of his upturned lip clinched it.

“Aw but I didn’t even get to see it!” He protested, jumping up and down like a child. “All that hard work for nothing! Now I have to try again!”

“Never in your lifetime.”

“I can’t wait to tell the guys about this!” Hinata beamed.

“You are so goddamn obnoxious!”

“But I feel so accomplished! I did the impossible! I made Kageyama happy! For like, a second! That’s a record!”

_Volleyball was the only thing I liked._

“No you didn’t! The joke was just so bad I felt like I was going to gag!”

“I bet no one has done that before! I’m gunna be the closest one to Kageyama out of everyone in the whole world!” Hinata taunted, knowing Kageyama would protest profusely.

The tall boy rolled his sleeve up, ready to unleash his wrath.

_Kageyama is a lonely person, isn’t he?_

_Are you saying you want to be my_ best friend _?_

Kageyama slowly lowered his arm, pulling his sleeve back down. A hand fell hard on Hinata’s shoulder, making him jolt.

“K-Kageyama?” He braced himself, for hell hath no fury like an irritated Kageyama Tobio.

“If- If you can keep be quiet about that from the team, I’ll buy you a meat bun.”

The shorter boy’s eyebrows knit together. 

“Wait. Are you bribing me?”

“No!”

“You are! You totally are!” Hinata erupted in a fit of laughter.

“So what?! Don’t be an asshole!” At this point the red from embarrassment was blending into the red from his rage, turning his face a deep scarlet.

“Nope! I’m gunna tell them!” Hinata promptly made a beeline for the Foothill Store, knowing the team would be there to pick up their usual after-practice snack run.

Kageyama managed to catch him and clamped a hand over Hinata’s mouth, to which he soon felt the warm wetness of the latter’s tongue drag flat across his palm. Kageyama made a sound of repulsion as he fought back the heat in the tips of his ears and jerked away, wiping his hand on his pants. Shouyou made his escape down the hill.

“You’re dead!” Tobio chased after, and their game began again.

~---~

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had stopped around the corner when they heard the usual ruckus from their fellow first-years, deciding they wanted no part in whatever nonsense they were prattling on about.

They inched a bit closer behind the trees and kneeled near the bushes. Ever the eavesdroppers, they struck gold in witnessing the most embarrassing thing the King had ever had the misfortune to let them see. 

Yamaguchi leaned closer as the events unfolded, tears of laughter in his eyes. “Oh boy would everyone eat this up. There was no way they would let him live this down-“

“Come on, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima stood up, patting the stray twigs off his cloths and walking down a small path off the side of the main road.

“Tsukki?”

“God, they’re disgusting.” He straightened out his headphones over his ears and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Yamaguchi smiled, up at him and turned to look at the path in front of them, enjoying the scenery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up being a longer one. I laughed a lot writing this so I hope you did too! Horrible jokes make the world go round. If you are the friend that makes horrible jokes, this is for you. \\(~w~)/
> 
> Posting this quick before class so let me know what you think! I'll triple check for errors later!


End file.
